Discovering New Things
by gesticulatingwildly
Summary: Set near the end of Season 7, Josh learns something new about Donna.


By this point, both Josh and Donna had pretty much assumed that they knew everything about each other. It was understandable given the years they'd worked together, the exceptionally long hours that meant they saw more of each other than they did any other person. They both knew each other's various little, sometimes annoying, quirks. Donna knew exactly how Josh liked his burger and Josh knew every awkward yet adorable story about Donna's past. Or at least that's what he figured until tonight.

"What happened to your foot?" Josh questioned, laying by her side, holding her right foot gently in one hand, midway through a rather delightful massage.

"Huh?" was the response from a somewhat distracted Donna.

"Your foot…well, the back of it…what's with the red marks?" replied Josh, softly, as he continued caressing her foot.

"Ohh, that's from when I went rowing and fell in the lake. I thought you meant something new," Donna settled back down, relaxing once more.

"What?!"

In surprise, Josh dropped her foot back onto the bed and sat back up. "When did this happen?! Where was I?! What lake?!" A look of concern rapidly spreading on his face.

"Er, well, I was 16 so you were probably already out trying to make the world a better place, and it was back home in Wisconsin" Donna paused for a moment, looking at the increasingly confused Josh, patting him on the arm gently. "Also, honey, your voice got really high throughout all that"

"I was just amazed. How did I not know this already?!" Josh looked almost disappointed in himself by this point.

Donna shrugged.

"I guess it just hadn't come up before. Don't worry about it" She stroked his arm, hoping it'd calm him a little.

"But how did I not see it before?"

"How do you suppose you would have seen tiny red marks on the back of my ankle before?"

"Well, I guess…Wait, I know! When I used to tie my shoelaces near you so that I could get a good look at your legs without looking too obvious" Josh realised a little too late that he may have said too much.

"You did what?!"

"I just really loved…love your legs, ok?" Josh slowly stroked his hand down one of Donna's legs to reinforce his point.

"Ok, it's weird how you did it but ok, that is kinda sweet of you"

Josh grinned at this, settling back down near Donna's feet, returning to the foot massage.

"So, what happened then?"

"Oh, well, back when I was 16, I used to go out with this guy who liked to, well, borrow boats from time to time."

Josh paused for a moment, eyebrows raised.

"Borrow?"

"Yeah! He'd always bring them back once we were done with them. No one ever complained"

"Ok, now I'm starting to see why you're fine with returning a dress after wearing it. This is where your loose morals began!"

"And you're not a fan of being able to corrupt me then?" Donna mock pouted.

With a dimpled grin, Josh had no trouble knowing the answer to that, "Well, I didn't say that"

By this point, Josh's hand was moving steadily up her calves. Donna's interest in telling the story was fast fading. Just as he reached her knee, eliciting a sigh, he stopped.

"Wait…16…it wasn't Freddie, was it?"

"No, Josh!"

"Oh, good"

He returned to drawing small circles around her knee with his finger.

"So, how did you fall out?"

"Oh, it was kinda stupid really. We'd been out on the lake for a while and I was getting kinda hot and bothered."

Josh's eyebrows rose once more.

"Not like that! It was an August day. It was hot, ok?"

Josh carried on grinning knowingly as he attended to her knee.

"Once we got near to shore, I thought I'd go into the water where it was shallow, just hold onto the boat. You know?"

"Hardly ever"

Donna glared at Josh's response but a quick stroke of his fingers soon appeased her for now.

"So that's what I did, except I forgot about rocks. I slipped on them then as I was trying to regain my balance, I kept on slipping. Kurt hopped in to try to grab me but I nearly took him down with me. Anyway, it didn't seem so bad at the time but the marks never really went away"

Josh returned to gazing at the small red marks. They looked like scratches more than anything.

"I think they're cute" He stroked a finger gently along the lines.

Pulling a face, Donna exclaimed, "They're really not"

"Yeah, they are. Although everything about you is cute so…"

Josh flashed a cheesy grin at Donna.

"Flattery will get you…"

"Everywhere?", Josh chipped in, his hands soon stroking their way up her legs.

Donna sighed, "Yes, Josh"

"I like it when you use that tone"

Skipping ahead, he tugged Donna into a bear hug, his face snuggled into her neck.

"So, what else don't I know about you? You didn't get abducted by aliens when you were nine, did you?"

Donna laughed, "No, Josh, I didn't"

"Shame. That would have explained so much"

Josh managed to dodge her swatting hand, grabbing her arm in one hand and tickling her with the other, Donna resigned herself to laughing as he gently kissed her neck.

"No other scars? Er, well, you know other than…"

They both glanced down at the scars highlighting that time in Gaza that neither really wanted to remember again.

Aiming to return the mood to its earlier lightheartedness, Josh took things into his own hands, literally, returning his hands to caressing Donna's hips.

"How about we see what new places I can discover to make you moan?"

Donna sighed quietly at the thought, paying close attention to where Josh's hands were going.

"That sounds good to me."


End file.
